CN221946209U - Optical waveguide components and near-eye display devices - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model discloses an optical waveguide component and a near-eye display device, the optical waveguide component includes: a waveguide substrate, the waveguide substrate has a coupling end and a coupling end arranged relatively, the light enters the waveguide substrate from the coupling end, and is emitted from the coupling end after being totally reflected and transmitted in the waveguide substrate; an array spectroscopic film, the array spectroscopic film is arranged in the waveguide substrate and is located at the coupling end of the waveguide substrate so that the light is emitted from the waveguide substrate, the array spectroscopic film splits the light of the first polarization state and transmits the light of the second polarization state, and the polarization directions of the first polarization state and the second polarization state are orthogonal; a polarizer, the polarizer is arranged on the side of the waveguide substrate away from the human eye, and the polarizer is used to allow only the light of the second polarization state in the ambient light to enter the human eye through the polarizer. According to the optical waveguide component of the utility model, the formation of ghosting can be avoided, and the display effect of near-eye display can be improved.

Description

Optical waveguide assembly and near-to-eye display device

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the technical field of optical waveguides, in particular to an optical waveguide assembly and near-to-eye display equipment.

Background

In recent years, the technologies of augmented Reality (Augmented Reality, AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have been rapidly developed, and in order to implement the functions of augmented Reality, researchers have proposed various schemes, such as Birdbath, prisms, free-form surfaces, optical waveguides, etc., among the former three schemes, there are often contradictions between good product forms and better display effects, and optical waveguides can effectively solve the above problems.

However, in the optical waveguide technology, light emitted by the optical machine is parallel light, and after entering the waveguide through the coupling device, the light is reflected out through the multi-layer light splitting films and enters human eyes. The distance from the light of the object in the nature, which is closer to the waveguide sheet, to the waveguide is shorter, the light diverges to enter the human eyes, and the human eyes focus adjusting function converts the light information into image information. However, due to the existence of the array light-splitting film, a part of light rays are reflected by the array light-splitting film to enter the waveguide and are reflected by other light-splitting films to enter human eyes, and at the moment, the light rays loaded with the same information become virtual images to form double images.

Disclosure of utility model

The present utility model aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. Therefore, the utility model aims to provide an optical waveguide assembly, which can avoid the formation of double images and improve the display effect of near-eye display.

The utility model also provides near-eye display equipment with the optical waveguide assembly.

An optical waveguide assembly according to a first aspect of the present utility model, the optical waveguide assembly comprising:

The light source comprises a waveguide substrate, a light source and a light source, wherein the waveguide substrate is provided with a coupling-in end and a coupling-out end which are oppositely arranged, light enters the waveguide substrate from the coupling-in end, and after total reflection transmission in the waveguide substrate, the light is emitted from the coupling-out end;

The array light splitting film is arranged in the waveguide substrate and is positioned at the coupling-out end of the waveguide substrate so as to enable light rays to be emitted from the waveguide substrate, the array light splitting film splits light rays of a first polarization state and transmits light rays of a second polarization state, and the light rays of the first polarization state are orthogonal to the polarization direction of the light rays of the second polarization state;

The polarizer is arranged on one side of the waveguide substrate far away from human eyes, and the polarizer is used for enabling light rays with a second polarization state in ambient light to enter the human eyes through the polarizer.

In some embodiments, the light entering the waveguide substrate through the coupling-in end is light of a first polarization state.

In some embodiments, the light of the first polarization state is s-polarized light and the light of the second polarization state is p-polarized light.

In some alternative embodiments, the polarizer is an absorbing polarizer that can absorb s-polarized light and transmit p-polarized light.

In some embodiments, the polarizer further comprises a connector through which the polarizer is connected to the waveguide substrate.

In some alternative embodiments, the connector is an optical cement.

In some embodiments, the waveguide substrate further comprises a coupling-in optical element disposed at a coupling-in end of the waveguide substrate.

In some alternative embodiments, the incoupling optical element is a prism or a grating.

In some embodiments, the waveguide substrate is comprised of a silicon-based optical waveguide material or a polymeric optical waveguide material.

According to the optical waveguide assembly, the polarizer is arranged on the side, far from the human eyes, of the waveguide substrate, only light rays in the second polarization state in ambient light can penetrate through the polarizer, and the array light splitting film is arranged to split the light rays in the first polarization state and transmit the light rays in the second polarization state, so that when emergent light rays of a natural object, which is close to the waveguide sheet, are emitted to the optical waveguide assembly, only the ambient light in the second polarization state can reach the waveguide substrate, and the ambient light rays are emitted to the human eyes after being transmitted through the waveguide substrate and the array light splitting film, so that the array light splitting film can be prevented from reflecting the ambient light for multiple times, ghost images can be reduced, and the display quality of the optical waveguide assembly is improved.

The near-eye display device according to the second aspect of the utility model comprises a projection light engine and the optical waveguide assembly according to the first aspect of the utility model.

According to the near-eye display device of the utility model, the optical waveguide assembly of the first aspect is arranged, so that the overall performance of the near-eye display device is improved.

Additional aspects and advantages of the utility model will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the utility model.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical waveguide assembly according to one embodiment of the present utility model;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an optical waveguide assembly according to another embodiment of the present utility model;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an optical waveguide assembly according to yet another embodiment of the present utility model;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a near-eye display device according to one embodiment of the utility model.

Reference numerals:

100: an optical waveguide assembly; 10 a waveguide substrate; 11 a coupling-out end; 12 a coupling-in terminal; a 20-array light splitting film; 30 polarizer; 40 optical cement; 50: coupling into an optical element;

1000: a near-eye display device; 200: a projection light machine;

1: and (5) human eyes.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present utility model are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to like or similar elements or elements having like or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are illustrative and intended to explain the present utility model and should not be construed as limiting the utility model.

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different structures of the utility model. In order to simplify the present disclosure, components and arrangements of specific examples are described below. They are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to limit the utility model. Furthermore, the present utility model may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. In addition, the present utility model provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize the applicability of other processes and/or the use of other materials.

An optical waveguide assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present utility model is described below with reference to fig. 1 to 3, where the optical waveguide assembly 100 includes a waveguide substrate 10, an array spectral film 20, and a polarizer 30, and the waveguide substrate 10 is a medium device for guiding light waves to propagate therein, and may guide light projected by a projector to the front of glasses, and superimpose a virtual image on a real image in front of human eyes, thereby implementing an augmented reality function. The waveguide substrate 10 has a coupling-in end 12 and a coupling-out end 11 disposed opposite to each other, light enters the waveguide substrate 10 from the coupling-in end 12, and is emitted from the coupling-out end 11 after being totally reflected in the waveguide substrate 10, and it should be noted that the coupling-in end 12 and the coupling-out end 11 may be disposed according to specific requirements, for example, in the embodiment of the present utility model, the coupling-in end 12 and the coupling-out end 11 are disposed opposite to each other along the length direction of the waveguide substrate 10.

Referring to fig. 1, further, the array dichroic film 20 is disposed in the waveguide substrate 10 and is located at the coupling-out end 11 of the waveguide substrate 10, so that light is emitted from the waveguide substrate 10, and it can be understood that the light transmitted in the waveguide substrate 10 is totally reflected, and when transmitted to the array dichroic film 20, the array dichroic film 20 breaks the condition of total reflection of the light in the waveguide substrate 10, so that the light is coupled out from the waveguide substrate 10 to enter the human eye 1. The array light splitting film 20 may be formed by a plurality of light splitting films arranged in parallel at intervals, the number of the light splitting films may be two, three, four, etc., and the interval distances between the adjacent light splitting films may be equal or unequal.

With continued reference to fig. 1, the array dichroic film 20 splits light of a first polarization state, and transmits light of a second polarization state, wherein the first polarization state is orthogonal to the second polarization state; it should be noted that, when the light beam of the first polarization state is orthogonal to the polarization direction of the light beam of the second polarization state, the vibration direction of the light beam of the first polarization state is perpendicular to the vibration direction of the light beam of the second polarization state, specifically, the light beam entering the waveguide substrate 10 may include multiple polarization states, for example, in the embodiment of the present utility model, the light beam entering the waveguide substrate 10 may include the light beam of the first polarization state and the light beam of the second polarization state, and when the light beam of the first polarization state is transmitted to the array beam splitting film 20, since the array beam splitting film 20 splits the light beam of the first polarization state, a part of the light beam of the first polarization state is reflected by the array beam splitting film 20 and coupled out of the waveguide substrate 10, and another part of the light beam of the first polarization state is transmitted by the array beam splitting film 20 and continues to be transmitted forward, so as to realize pupil expansion; when the light of the second polarization state is incident on the array dichroic film 20, the light of the second polarization state is not reflected and coupled out by the array dichroic film 20 because the array dichroic film 20 transmits the light of the second polarization state. Of course, the light incident on the waveguide substrate 10 may also include light with other polarization states, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present utility model.

With continued reference to fig. 1, further, a polarizer 30 is disposed on a side of the waveguide substrate 10 away from the human eye 1, and the polarizer 30 is configured to allow only light rays of the second polarization state in the ambient light to enter the human eye 1 through the polarizer 30. It will be appreciated that when ambient light is incident on the polarizer 30, only light of the second polarization state of the ambient light may be transmitted through the polarizer 30, i.e., only ambient light of the second polarization state may reach the waveguide substrate 10 at this time, and, since the array dichroic film 20 transmits the light of the second polarization state, the ambient light of the second polarization state is not reflected multiple times by the array dichroic film 20, but is directly transmitted by the waveguide substrate 10 and the array dichroic film 20, and enters the human eye 1.

It should be noted that, the polarizer 30 may be a linear polarizer, and the light of the first polarization state and the light of the second polarization state may be two kinds of linear polarized light having mutually perpendicular vibration directions.

The inventor finds in practical research that the emergent light of a natural object which is closer to the waveguide sheet has a shorter distance from the waveguide sheet, and the light diverges into human eyes. However, due to the existence of the array light-splitting film, a part of light rays are reflected by the array light-splitting film to enter the waveguide and are reflected by other light-splitting films to enter human eyes, and at the moment, the light rays loaded with the same information become virtual images to form double images.

In view of this, according to the optical waveguide assembly 100 of the embodiment of the present utility model, by disposing the polarizer 30 on the side of the waveguide substrate 10 away from the human eye 1, only the light with the second polarization state in the ambient light can pass through the polarizer 30, and disposing the array light splitting film 20 to split the light with the first polarization state and transmit the light with the second polarization state, when the outgoing light of the object in the nature close to the waveguide sheet is directed to the optical waveguide assembly 100, only the ambient light with the second polarization state can reach the waveguide substrate 10 at this time, and is incident to the human eye 1 after being transmitted through the waveguide substrate 10 and the array light splitting film 20, multiple reflection of the ambient light by the array light splitting film 20 is avoided, so that ghost can be reduced and the display quality of the optical waveguide assembly 100 is improved.

With continued reference to fig. 1, in some embodiments, the light entering the waveguide substrate 10 through the coupling-in end 12 is light of a first polarization state. It may be appreciated that the near-eye display device 1000 may include the projection light engine 200 and the optical waveguide assembly 100, where the projection light engine 200 may only emit light with a first polarization state, so that the light entering the waveguide substrate 10 through the coupling-in end 12 may be only light with the first polarization state, and when the light with the first polarization state is transmitted to the array light splitting film 20 through total reflection in the waveguide substrate 10, the array light splitting film 20 may split the light with the first polarization state, and since the array light splitting film 20 includes a plurality of light splitting films, the light with the first polarization state may be transmitted and reflected by the plurality of light splitting films for multiple times, so as to implement pupil expansion.

It can be appreciated that, since the array light splitting film 20 transmits the light of the second polarization state, that is, after the light of the second polarization state enters the waveguide substrate 10, the array light splitting film 20 does not change the total reflection angle of the light of the second polarization state on the waveguide substrate 10, so that the light of the second polarization state cannot be coupled out from the waveguide substrate 10, resulting in light loss, and when the light entering the waveguide substrate 10 is only the light of the first polarization state, the light loss of the light of the second polarization state by the light waveguide assembly 100 can be avoided, thereby improving the light transmission efficiency of the light waveguide assembly 100.

It should be noted that, the array dichroic film 20 may transmit light of the second polarization state, or the array dichroic film 20 may transmit all light of the second polarization state, or the array dichroic film 20 may transmit most of the light of the second polarization state, and only a small portion of the light of the second polarization state may be reflected by the array dichroic film.

With continued reference to fig. 1, in some embodiments, the light of the first polarization state is s-polarized light, and the light of the second polarization state is p-polarized light. That is, the array spectroscopic film 20 may split s-polarized light, and the ratio of the transmitted light to the reflected light of the s-polarized light passing through the array spectroscopic film 20 may be set as required, and more specifically, the ratio of the transmitted light to the reflected light of the s-polarized light by each of the array spectroscopic films 20 may be set as required. In practical application, the projection light machine 200 of the near-eye display device 1000 may be an LCOS light machine, light emitted by the LCOS light machine is s polarized light, the s polarized light emitted by the LCOS light machine enters the waveguide substrate 10 through the coupling-in end 12, and after being totally reflected and transmitted in the waveguide substrate 10, is coupled out from the waveguide substrate 10 through the array light splitting film 20 and enters the human eye 1; the polarizer 30 may be a polarizer that transmits only p-polarized light, and thus, only p-light of the ambient light may pass through the polarizer 30 and be transmitted into the human eye 1 via the waveguide substrate 10 and the array spectral film 20.

Therefore, when the light of the first polarization state is s polarized light and the light of the second polarization state is p polarized light, the optical waveguide assembly 100 has a simple structure, which is beneficial to reducing the production cost of the optical waveguide assembly 100.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, in some alternative embodiments, polarizer 30 is an absorbing polarizer that absorbs s-polarized light and transmits p-polarized light. As can be appreciated, the absorption polarizer can avoid interference caused by multiple reflections of light, thereby further improving the display quality of the optical waveguide assembly 100.

Referring to fig. 2, in some embodiments, the optical waveguide assembly 100 further includes a connector, through which the polarizer 30 is connected to the waveguide substrate 10. It may be appreciated that the polarizer 30 may be disposed on the waveguide substrate 10 through a connection member, so that the optical waveguide assembly 100 has a simple structure and reduces production cost, specifically, the connection member may be a clamping structure, etc., and the polarizer 30 and the waveguide substrate 10 may be provided with a clamping structure, so as to implement the clamping connection between the polarizer 30 and the waveguide substrate 10, and of course, the embodiment of the present utility model does not limit the structure of the connection member, and the polarizer 30 and the waveguide substrate 10 may be connected by other manners.

In some alternative embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the connector is an optical cement 40. Therefore, the polarizer 30 is connected with the waveguide substrate 10 through the optical cement 40, on one hand, the optical cement 40 has good stability, the polarizer 30 is not easy to fall off, on the other hand, the optical cement 40 cannot interfere light rays, and the display quality of the optical waveguide assembly 100 is further improved.

Referring to fig. 3, in some embodiments, the optical device further includes an optical coupling element 50, where the optical coupling element 50 is disposed at the coupling end 12 of the waveguide substrate 10. Specifically, for example, the coupling-in optical element 50 may be a prism or a grating, which is not limited in this embodiment, and the coupling-in optical element 50 may be other elements, so long as the light of the projection optical machine 200 can be coupled into the waveguide substrate 10 and totally reflected and propagated in the waveguide substrate 10.

As shown in fig. 1-3, in some embodiments, the waveguide substrate 10 is composed of a silicon-based optical waveguide material or a polymeric optical waveguide material. The silicon-based optical waveguide material has good optical performance, so that the display quality of the optical waveguide assembly 100 can be improved, the polymer optical waveguide material has lighter quality, and the user experience is further improved.

Referring to fig. 4 together, a near-eye display device 1000 according to a second aspect of the present utility model includes a projection light machine 200 and an optical waveguide assembly 100 according to a first aspect of the present utility model. The projection optical engine 200 is configured to transmit light of the virtual image to the optical waveguide assembly 100, and the light of the virtual image enters the waveguide substrate 10 via the coupling optical element 50 to be totally reflected and transmitted, and when the light is transmitted to the array reflective film, the total reflection condition of the light of the virtual image is destroyed and coupled out from the waveguide substrate 10, and finally is emitted to the human eye 1. Specifically, the projection light machine 200 in the embodiment of the present utility model may be an LCOS light machine, where the array reflective film is opposite to the s-polarized light and transmits the p-polarized light, so that the LCOS light machine emits s-polarized light, and the s-polarized light enters the waveguide substrate 10 through the coupling optical element 50 for total reflection transmission, and when the s-polarized light is transmitted to the array reflective film, the total reflection condition of the s-polarized light is destroyed and coupled out from the waveguide substrate 10 to enter the human eye 1; and after passing through the polarizer 30, only p polarized light can be transmitted out from the polarizer 30 and enter the human eye 1 through the waveguide substrate 10 and the array light splitting film 20, thereby realizing the function of augmented reality.

According to the near-eye display device 1000 of the present utility model, by disposing the polarizer 30 on the side of the waveguide substrate 10 away from the human eye 1, only the light of the second polarization state in the ambient light can pass through the polarizer 30, and disposing the array light splitting film 20 to split the light of the first polarization state and transmit the light of the second polarization state, so when the outgoing light of the natural object close to the waveguide sheet is directed to the optical waveguide assembly 100, only the ambient light of the second polarization state can reach the waveguide substrate 10 at this time, and is transmitted by the waveguide substrate 10 and the array light splitting film 20 and then is incident to the human eye 1, thereby avoiding the multiple reflection of the ambient light by the array light splitting film 20, so as to reduce ghost images, improve the display quality of the optical waveguide assembly 100, and further improve the overall performance of the near-eye display device 1000.

Other configurations and operations of the optical waveguide assembly 100 and the near-eye display device 1000 according to embodiments of the present utility model are known to those of ordinary skill in the art and will not be described in detail herein.

In the description of the present utility model, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings are merely for convenience in describing the present utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element being referred to must have a specific orientation, be configured and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the present utility model.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such feature. In the description of the present utility model, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more, unless explicitly defined otherwise.

In the present utility model, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly, and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; the device can be mechanically connected, electrically connected and communicated; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communicated with the inside of two elements or the interaction relationship of the two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present utility model can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to the specific circumstances.

In the present utility model, unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, a first feature "up" or "down" a second feature may be the first and second features in direct contact, or the first and second features in indirect contact via an intervening medium. Moreover, a first feature being "above," "over" and "on" a second feature may be a first feature being directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicating that the first feature is level higher than the second feature. The first feature being "under", "below" and "beneath" the second feature may be the first feature being directly under or obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicating that the first feature is less level than the second feature.

In the description of the present specification, a description referring to terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "examples," "specific examples," or "some examples," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present utility model. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms are not necessarily directed to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples may be combined and combined by those skilled in the art without contradiction.

While embodiments of the present utility model have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: many changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and principles of the utility model, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims (10)

1. An optical waveguide component, characterized in that the optical waveguide component comprises: A waveguide substrate, wherein the waveguide substrate has an in-coupling end and an out-coupling end arranged opposite to each other, wherein light enters the waveguide substrate from the in-coupling end, is totally reflected and transmitted in the waveguide substrate, and then is emitted from the out-coupling end; An array of splitter films, the array of splitter films is arranged in the waveguide substrate and located at the outcoupling end of the waveguide substrate, so that the light is emitted from the waveguide substrate, the array of splitter films splits the light of a first polarization state and transmits the light of a second polarization state, and the polarization directions of the light of the first polarization state and the light of the second polarization state are orthogonal; A polarizer is arranged on a side of the waveguide substrate away from the human eye, and is used for allowing only light of the second polarization state in the ambient light to pass through the polarizer and enter the human eye. 2. The optical waveguide component according to claim 1, wherein the light entering the waveguide substrate through the coupling-in end is light of a first polarization state. 3 . The optical waveguide component according to claim 1 , wherein the light in the first polarization state is s-polarized light, and the light in the second polarization state is p-polarized light. 4 . The optical waveguide assembly according to claim 3 , wherein the polarizer is an absorptive polarizer, and the absorptive polarizer can absorb s-polarized light and transmit p-polarized light. 5 . The optical waveguide assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising a connecting member, wherein the polarizer is connected to the waveguide substrate via the connecting member. The optical waveguide assembly according to claim 5 , wherein the connecting member is optical glue. 7 . The optical waveguide assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising a coupling-in optical element, wherein the coupling-in optical element is disposed at a coupling-in end of the waveguide substrate. 8 . The optical waveguide component according to claim 7 , wherein the coupling-in optical element is a prism or a grating. 9 . The optical waveguide component according to claim 1 , wherein the waveguide substrate is made of a silicon-based optical waveguide material or a polymer optical waveguide material. 10. A near-eye display device, comprising a projection optical engine and the optical waveguide assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 9.